Posted by: Frederik Balfour on September 25, 2008

Chalk up another one for China. Not only does it have the biggest haul of Olympic gold medals. Now it can claim the most super rich individuals in Asia. According to a survey released by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch on Sept. 25, at the end of 2007 China boasted more than 6,000 people worth more than $30 million a piece, excluding their principal residence. Japan only had about 5,300.

Readers of this blog might remember how in July I wrote that China had eclipsed France in terms of millionaires, but the revelation that its class of super rich exceeds Japan’s is testament to how quickly China is reaching the loftiest rungs of the affluence ladder.

But here’s perhaps an even bigger surprise: Vietnam has more than 20 people belonging to this super fat wallet crowd, according to the report which tracked wealth in that country for the first time in this latest report.

In response to a couple of comment queries, I’m adding the following information on September 26: The number of High Net Worth Invidiuals in India is 118,000 at the end of 2007 according to the report, a 22.7% increase year on year. The number of ultra high net worth was about 1,080 in India, a tie with Singapore.

Reader Comments

harry

September 26, 2008 2:17 AM

What about India, How many super rich individuals exist there?

Hari

September 26, 2008 3:28 AM

Nobody knows because the Indian rich are too busy hiding it from the tax man!

Haree

September 26, 2008 3:51 AM

Harry and Hari,

I would be surprised if the number is below 50,000, since India is the most developed country on the face of the planet.

frederik balfour

September 26, 2008 7:15 AM

The number of High Net Worth Invidiuals in India is 118,000 at the end of 2007 according to the report, a 22.7% increase year on year. The number of ultra high net worth was about 1,080 in India, a tie with Singapore.

buttercookies

September 27, 2008 3:40 AM

It is too funny, the title of this blog is about "China has more super rich than Japan" and all the comments is about how much India has. What is the relevance? Indian's insecurities perhaps?

stop day dreaming you fools

September 27, 2008 10:40 PM

India has 99.99% of it's population living in abject poverty. Super rich Indians amounting to a mere 0.01% of the total population means nothing.

@ buttercookies

September 28, 2008 9:49 AM

Right on! The need of Indians to compare!

To Infinity and Beyond

September 28, 2008 1:32 PM

Though as a Chinese I am glad to have this fact come to my knowledge but the underlying question still is:
How much good does it do the Chinese as a whole if China has a few more millionaires than Japan?

Even if China has some more millionaires than Japan, let's not forget that China has more poor people than the total population of Japan and does not posses the high per capita income of Japan yet.

It is evident from the fact when so many Chinese from China are still migrating to other parts of the world in search of a better life. The Chinese are not at the same level of cultural sophistication as the Japanese. China still has to do a lot of hard work and has a long way to go. Not until each and every Chinese is included in the envelope of prosperity can the Chinese truly deserve to feel proud of their achievements and show it to the world.

The hosting of the highly successful Beijing Olympics, the success of the Shenzhou 7 spacewalk as well as having more millionaires than Japan and France may be very impressive but they are just small portions of a very large picture that symbolize China's aspirations and potential.
So let not the people of China loose focus on the goal that still lies ahead.

Leave the ridiculous habit of fanciful hype over minor achievements to our insecure and glory starved Indian 'friends'. It is quite evident over here where we have all these Indian commentators dragging India into the middle of the discussion as if trying to make India the focus of attention even though this forum has nothing to do with India.

Sometimes I wonder if Indians find China's rise and advancement far more unsettling than the Yanks.

I thank Frederik Balfour for writing this article.

ellena

September 29, 2008 11:25 AM

who cares which country has more super rich, At least i don't.

evan

October 6, 2008 7:27 PM

I hope Chinese 'super-rich' arent buying Chinese milk or using Chinese products of any kind.. otherwise the 'super=rich' might become the 'super-deceased', and poor BusinessWeek might have to change the title of this article.

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Bloomberg Businessweek’s team of Asia reporters brings you the latest insights on business, politics, technology and culture from some of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies.